Tag: consistory

Midway through the last month of the year, it is a good time to look ahead to the new year. 2018 will undoubtedly feature its share of Catholic news, developments and, not least, opinions in social media. Every year since the launch of this blog has had had more than a few surprises, so a look at the future can’t be anything but incomplete, but there are a few things which we know will happen.

The retirement and appointment of bishops is pretty easy to predict, as bishops are legally bound to offer their resignation when they reach the age of 75. Locally, there are currently three dioceses without a bishop: Roermond in the Netherlands, and Hildesheim and Würzburg in Germany. In 2018, two more will likely join these: in Fulda, Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen (at right) will celebrate his 75th on 15 February, and in Namur, Bishop Remy Vancottem will do likewise on 25 July. A third likely diocese to fall vacant in Ghent. Bishop Luc van Looy will turn 77 on 28 September. Upon his 75th birthday, the diocese made it known that Pope Francis had requested the bishop stay on for two more years, and that extension is up this year.

Other predictable events include the 80th birthdays of cardinals, the age at which they cease their duties in the Roman Curia and are no longer able to participate in a conclave. In 2018, six cardinals will mark this milestone:

Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliò on 3 February

Paolo Cardinal Romeo on 20 February

Francesco Cardinal Coccopalmerio on 6 March

Manuel Cardinal Monteiro de Castro on 29 March

Pierre Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Nhơn on 1 April

Angelo Cardinal Amato on 8 June

While all hold memberships in various dicasteries in the curia, two of these sit at the head of them: Cardinal Coccopalmerio is president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and Cardinal Amato (at left) is the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Nhơn remains active as archbishop of Hanoi. All will undoubtedly retire upon their 80th birthday, opening up some interesting positions in the curia. Barring any deaths, the number of cardinal electors will stand at 114 by mid-2018. Possibly not low enough for a new consistory by itself, but considering the fact that a further 10 ill age out in 2019, Pope Francis may decide to be proactive and call a consistory in autumn for the creation of anywhere between 6 and 16 new cardinals.

Speaking about the pope, he will, despite the fact that he has no love for travelling, visit several countries in 2018. In January, he will once again return to South America, visiting Peru and Chile. Ireland is on the schedule in August, when the Holy Father will attend the World Meeting of Families taking place in Dublin (logo at right). Visits not yet confirmed are to the Baltic countries in September and to Romania in December. A visit to India also remains an option, but as Pope Francis has just wrapped a visit to India’s neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh, it may not be at the top of the list.

In the latter part of the year, all eyes will be on the Synod of Bishops again, this while the reverberations of the last two assemblies of that body are still being felt. The October 2018 Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops while focus on “Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment”. To this assembly, each bishops’ conference will elect one or more (depending on their size) delegates, while the Pope will also make a personal selection of delegates. One of these personal choices has already been made: Sérgio Cardinal Da Rocha, the archbishop of Brasília, was appointed as Relator General of next year’s assembly. He will outline the theme at the start of the assembly and summarise the delegates’ speeches so they can be condensed into concrete proposals.

The five cardinals created in Pope Francis’ fourth consistory, yesterday, received, in addition to their red birettas and a papal reminder to be servants rather than princes, a title church each. Even Cardinal Rosa Chavéz, not being an ordinary, received a title church rather than a deanery. This most likely since he has pastoral duties over a local flock rather than in the Roman curia, albeit under an archbishop with final authority.

Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavéz is also the only cardinal of the five to receive a new title church, that is a church that has never been a title church before. Santissimo Sacramento a Tor de’ Schiavi was built in the 1960s and consecrated in 1968.

The other four title churches all have a history – some long, some short – as cardinal title churches.

Cardinal Jean Zerbo is the cardinal-priest of Sant’Antonio da Padova a Via Tuscolana. Consecrated in 1965 and managed by the Rogationists, the church was held by one cardinal before. He was Brazilian Paulo Arns, who passed away in December and had this title since his creation in 1973.

Cardinal Juan Omella Omella has an ancient title. Santa Croce in Gerusalemme has been a title church since the 7th century. Its most recent cardinal-protector was Czech Miloslav Vlk, and others include four popes, as well as the first Dutch cardinal ever, Willem van Rossum.

Cardinal Anders Arborelius (pictured above) was given the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a 16th century church previously held by American Cardinal William Keeler. The church became a title church in 1565.

Cardinal Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, then, hold the title of San Silvestro in Capite. Its three previous protectors all hailed from the British Isles, the most recent of whom was Irish Cardinal Desmond Connell. Among its earlier cardinal-protectors was the later Pope Clement XI.

The title churches of cardinals serve to tie them into the church of Rome. Originally, the cardinals were the priests of Rome working with their bishop, the pope. As the Church grew and cardinals resided sometimes very far from Rome, they were still appointed to a church in the city, as if to say that that was their position from which to work with the Holy Father. In reality, a cardinal has little to no influence in his title church beyond the presence of their coat of arms after they have taken possession of the church. That possession is usually taken within about a year after a cardinal’s creation, although there are exceptions: Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich took possession of San Bartolomeo all’Isola a day after his creation, while Cardial Kutwa of Abidjan waited a full three years to make Sant’Emerenziana a Tor Fiorenza his own.

The new cardinals will be appointed to serve on the various congregations and councils in the Curia wiuthin the coming months.

Tomorrow, Pope Francis will create his fourth batch of cardinals. A small group of five this time (the smallest since Blessed Paul VI’s creation of four cardinals in 1977), but one unique in its variety, both in the places the new cardinals call home and in their hierarchical positions among the world’s bishops: One is an archbishop of a major metropolitan see, the other an auxiliary bishop; one runs a diocese covering an entire country, the other a sparsely-populated stretch of mountains and jungle, while another resides in a mostly Muslim society.

This consistory, like others before it, comes with its own developments. This time, it is Archbishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali, who is at the centre of attention. Yesterday, the news broke that he will skip tomorrow’s ceremony because of health reasons, it is claimed. A valid reason for a 73-year-old man, certainly, but one made all the more interesting by the recent discovery of several Swiss bank accounts in the name of the bishops’ conference of Mali, totalling some 12 million euros in 2007. The bishops deny any misappropriation and claim full transparency about the existence of this extensive funds. Regardless of this, questions remain about the origin and purpose of this money, as journalist Marco Politi outlines, and Archbishop Zerbo, being one of three men with access to these accounts, is the subject of scrutiny, especially now that he is to be a cardinal.

Archbishop Zerbo’s absence from the consistory also influences the ceremony. Being the first-named among the new cardinals, it was his task to address a few words of gratitude to the Pope on behalf of himself and the other cardinals. It would be logical to assume that this now falls to the second name on the list, that of Archbishop Juan Omella Omella of Barcelona.

All in all, the consistory will be an intimate affair, with the four cardinals-elect, Juan Omella Omella, Anders Arborelius, Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun and Gregorio Rosa Chavéz, seated before the Holy Father, dressed in the cardinal red that signifies the servitude unto death as described by Jesus to his disciples in the reading from the Gospel of Mark, always used in consistories: “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (10:43-45)

On Thursday, the traditional first Mass of the new cardinals with the Pope will be combined with the Mass for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, after which the pallia for the past year’s new metropolitan archbishops will be distributed. Under Pope Francis’ new rules, the actual imposition of the pallia will take place in the archbishops home dioceses. It is not mandatory for the new archbishops to attend and collect their pallia themselves, but it is expected that most of this year’s 34 will do so.

EDIT: Yesterday, it was revealed that Cardinal-designate Jean Zerbo will attend the consistory, having recovered enough from a stomach ailment that would have prevented his travelling to Rome.

Out of the blue, Pope Francis today announced that he will be creating five new cardinals on 28 June. What is not surprising is that the new red hats will, for the most part, go to the peripheries of the world. The only new cardinal who was a likely is the archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. The others reside, in Mali, Sweden, Laos and El Salvador.

Archbishop Jean Zerbo, 73, is the archbishop of Bamako, Mali. Although that see has been an archdiocese since 1955, it has never had a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Zerbo was auxiliary bishop of Bamako from 1988 to 1994, Bishop of Mopti from 1994 to 1998, and archbishop of Bamako since then. He has been a clear voice for aid to people suffering from war and terror in Mali and other countries in the southern Sahara.

Archbishop Juan José Omella, 71, is the arcbishop of Barcelona in Spain. He will be the fourth successive archbishop of that city to become a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Omella was auxiliary bishop of Zaragoza from 1996 to 1999, bishop of Barbastro-Monzón from 1999 to 2004, bishop of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño from 2004 to 2015, and archbishop of Barcelona since then.

Bishop Anders Arborelius, 67, is the bishop of Stockholm, Sweden. He wil be the first Swedish cardinal, and the first from Scandinavia as a whole. Cardinjal-designate Arborelius has been the bishop of Stockholm since 1998. His appointment is undoubtedly related to Pope Francis’ visit to Sweden in 2016, to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, during which Bishop Arborelius was one of the Pope’s hosts.

Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, 73, is the vicar apostolic of Pakse, and currently also the apostolic administrator of Vientiane, both in Laos. He will the first Laotian cardinal. He has served as vicar apostolic of Pakse since 2000. Bishop Mangkhanekhoun visited Rome with the other bishops from Laos on an Ad Limina visit in January, during which the idea to create a cardinal from that country may have come to the Pope.

Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavéz, 74, is auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. He will the only, and perhaps also first, auxiliary bishop to be made a cardinal, as well as El Salvador’s first and only cardinal. He has been auxiliary bishop of the Salvadorian capital since 1982, appointed shortly after the martyrdom of Blessed Archbishop Romero.

All five new cardinals will be cardinal priests as well as cardinal electors. The total number of cardinals will be 227 on 28 June, with 121 of them able to participate in a conclave. This will be Pope Francis’ fourth consistory, in which he has created 60 cardinals.

It has been speculated that Pope Francis would be willing to raise the maximum number of cardinal electors beyond the current 120. While he has exceeded that now by 1, it appears more as if he wants to keep the cardinal electors at 120 or thereabouts as long as possible. Hence the small consistory now (the previous consistory of similar size was Benedict XVI’s last, in 2012, in which he created six cardinals). The Holy Father could have waited until June of 2018, when a further seven cardinals would have aged out, and created 12 or 13 cardinals them, but he is clearly unwilling to wait that long.

On the threshold of 2017, a look ahead at what we may expect when it comes to the leadership of the various dioceses in Northwestern Europe.

There have been years when the changes were rather significant, but 2017 does not look to be one of those. At the start of the new year, three dioceses are without a bishop: Groningen-Leeuwarden in the Netherlands (map at right), Mainz in Germany and the Territorial Prelature of Trondheim in Norway. It is a safe bet that the first two will receive their new bishops in 2017, but Trondheim may well be left as it has been for the past seven years: without a bishop, and with the bishop of Oslo serving as Apostolic Administrator. But on the other hand, for a see that just built and consecrated its new cathedral, and which, like the rest of Norway, has seen a significant increase in Catholic faithful, this does not seem like a situation that will continue forever. So who knows what the year will bring.

In Groningen-Leeuwarden, the new bishop will succeed Bishop Gerard de Korte, who was appointed to ‘s-Hertogenbosch in March. Almost ten months in, the vacancy is the longest for the Dutch Catholic Church in recent years. The new bishop of Mainz will follow in the footsteps of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, who led that ancient see for 33 years.

There are a few bishops who will reach the age of 75 in 2017, and thus will offer their resignation. In Germany, these are Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann of Würzburg on 12 May and Norbert Trelle (at left) of Hildesheim on 5 September. Joining them is Bishop Frans Wiertz of Roermond in the Netherlands. He will be 75 on 2 December, but I would not be surprised if his retirement will be accepted earlier, as the bishop has been struggling with eye-related health problems.

There is one bishop serving past the age of 75. Bishop Luc Van Looy of Ghent has been asked to continue serving for another two years, so that Belgian see will remain occupied for the duration of 2017.

A less certain area to make predictions about is the appointment of auxiliary bishops. I expect, however, that two German dioceses will receive one auxiliary each. The Archdiocese of Hamburg has been without auxiliary bishops since October, when Bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke retired. As the archdiocese is being reorganised, the number of auxiliary bishops will be decreased from two to one, and we may well see one of the three new area deans (representing the archdiocese’s constituent areas of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg) to be made a bishop. Further south, the Diocese of Münster has confirmed its request for a new auxiliary bishop after Heinrich Timmerevers was appointed to Dresden-Meißen in April. This will bring the number of auxiliary bishops back up to five, one for each pastoral area.

In Rome, lastly, there will be no new consistory. Only four cardinals will reach the age of 80 and so cease to be electors. They are Audrys Backis, Archbishop emeritus of Vilnius, Lithuania (and former Nuncio to the Netherlands) (at right); Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop emeritus of Aparecida, Brazil; Attilio Nicora, Pontifical Legate to the Basilicas in Assisi, Italy; and Lluís Martínez Sistach, Archbishop emeritus of Barcelona, Spain. The number of cardinals who will be able to participate in a conclave will still be 116 at the end of next year, so there will be no need to bring their numbers up.

Another year nears its end, the seventh of this blog, which is always a good opportunity to look back, especially at what has appeared here in the blog over the course of 2016. I have grouped things loosely in various categories, so as to give an impression of cohesion.

Pope Francis at work

In Rome, and despite turning 80 this year, Pope Francis kept up the pace, introducing several changes, expected and unexpected. First, in January, he issued a decree which opened the rite of foot washing on Maundy Thursday also for women. I reflected on it here.

Pope Francis made several visits abroad this year. To Cuba and Mexico, to Greece, to Armenia, to Poland, to Georgia and Azerbaijan, but the last one received the most attention here. For two days, Pope Francis put ecumenism in the spotlight during his visit to Sweden. Announced in January as a one-day visit, a second day was added in June. In October, the Nordic bishops previewed the visit in a pastoral letter, which I published in English.

The abuse crisis

Still here, and unlikely to go completely away in the next years or decades, the abuse crisis continues to haunt the Church. in February there were shocked reactions to comments made by a prelate during a conference on how bishops should handle abuse allegations. I tried to add some context here. In the Netherlands there was indignation when it became clear that a significant number of abuse cases settled out of court included a secrecy clause, preventing victims from speaking negatively about the Church institutions under whose care they suffered abuse. In April, the annual statistics of abuse cases processed and compensation paid out were released.

Amoris laetitia

In April Amoris laetitia was released, the Post-Synodal Exhortation that was the fruit of the two Synod of Bishops assemblies on the family. Cardinal Eijk, the Dutch delegate to the assemblies, offered his initial thoughts about the document, followed by many other bishops.

While the document was broadly lauded, an ambuguous footnote led to much discussion. In November, four cardinals publised a list of dubia they presented to the Pope, but which received no answer. Citing the clear uncertainty about certain parts of Amoris laetitia, visible in the wide range of conclusions drawn, the cardinals respectfully asked for clarification, which they will most likely not be getting, at least not in the standard way.

The local churches

There were many more and varied events in local churches in the Netherlands and beyond. Theirs is a very general category, aiming to showcase some of the more important and interesting developments in 2016.

In January, the Belgian bishops elected then-Archbishop Jozef De Kesel as their new president. At the same time, Cardinal Wim Eijk announced that he would not be available for a second term as president of the Dutch Bishops’ Conference. In June, Bishop Hans van den Hende was chosen to succeed him.

A photograph of the cathedral of Groningen-Leeuwarden started appearing across the globe as a stock photo in articles about the Catholic Church. It continues to do so, as I saw it appear, some time last week, in an advert for a concert by a Dutch singer.

Bishop Patrick Hoogmartens of Hasselt received a personal message and blessing from Pope Francis on the occasion of the 18th Coronation Feasts held in Hasselt in the summer.

The annual procession in honour of St. Willibrord in Utrecht was criticised this year after the archbishop chose to limit its ecumenical aspect. I shared some thoughts here.

In Norway, Trondheim completed and consecrated a new cathedral. English Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor was sent to represent the Holy Father at the event.

The retired archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, André-Joseph Léonard, was heard from again when a new book featured his thoughts about never having been made a cardinal, unlike his immediate predecessors and, it turned out at about the time of the book’s publication, is successor.

At the end of the year, Berlin was hit by terrorism as a truck plowed through a Christmas market, killing 12 and wounding numerous others. Archbishop Heiner Koch offered a poetic reflection.

The Dutch Church abroad

In foreign media, the Catholic Church in the Netherlands also made a few headlines.

in Rome, 2,000 Dutch pilgrims were met by Pope Francis, who spoke to them about being channels of mercy.

The new Dutch translation of the Our Father also sparked fears in some quarters that the bishops were leading everyone into heresy, leading to many faithful revolting against the new text. The truth was somewhat less exciting.

Equally overexcited was the report of empty parishes and starving priests in the Netherlands. I provided some necessary details here.

In Dutch

While my blog is written in English, there have also been three blog posts in Dutch. All three were translations of texts which were especially interesting or important. The first was my translation of the joint declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, an important milestone in ecumenical relations between the Catholic and the Russian Orthodox Churches.

Then there was the headline-making address by Cardinal Robert Sarah at the Sacra Liturgia Conference in London, in which the cardinal invited priests to start celebrating ad orientem again. But the text contained much more than that, and remains well worth reading.

Lastly, I provided translations of all the papal addresses and homilies during the Holy Father’s visit to Sweden. I kept the post at the top of the blog for a while, as a reflection of its importance for Dutch-speaking Christians as well.

A thank you

Twice in 2016 I asked my readers to contribute financially to the blog. In both instances several of you came through, using the PayPal button in the sidebar to donate. My gratitude to you remains.

The death of Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns at the age of 95 today leads to an interesting change in the College of Cardinals, albeit a ceremonial one with virtually no effect of the day-to-day affairs of that body.

Cardinal Arns was created a cardinal by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1973. His death leaves only one surviving cardinal, albeit a former cardinal, created by that Pope. He is the Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, created in the four-man consistory of 1977 (the blessed pope’s last one).

Cardinal Arns was also the most senior of the Cardinal-Priests, one of three classes of cardinals. This gave him the office of protopriest, which entailed certain duties following the election of a new Pope. The protopriest pronounces the formal prayer for the new Pope after the protodeacon has bestowed the pallium and before the Dean of the College of Cardinals presents the Ring of the Fisherman. That said, Cardinal Arns never exercised that duty as he was not present at the inauguration of Pope Francis, and Cardinal Danneels acted in his stead.

The new protopriest is Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu, 87, retired archbishop of Bangkok and created in Pope Saint John Paul II’s second consistory in 1983 (the same consistory in which Cardinals Danneels and Meisner were created. Cardinal Kitbunchu is protopriest only because his name came before theirs on the official list).

Cardinal Paulo Evarista Arns was auxiliary bishop of São Paulo in Brazil from 1966 to 1970, and archbishop of that same see from 1970 to 1998. As cardinal he held the title church of Sant’Antonio da Padova in Via Tuscolana. He had been protopriest since 2012, the third Brazilian in that role after Cardinals Sales (2009-2012) and De Vasconcelos Motta (1977-1982). Cardinal Arns had been in hospital since the end of November for pneumonia. An obituary for the ‘cardinal of the people’ may be read here.

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About the author

I am Mark de Vries, a 38-year-old lay Catholic from Groningen, the Netherlands, and happily married since March of 2017. I am interested in the Catholic faith and the Church, which is what this blog is for. Other interests include, history, language and a combination of these. I also enjoy reading, drawing, cycling, photography and a good movie or series.

For a personal account about my reasons for becoming and remaining Catholic, go read my story: Why am I Catholic?

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In this blog I wish to provide accurate information on current affairs in the Church and her relation with society. It is important for Catholics to have knowledge about their own faith and Church, especially since these are frequently misrepresented in many places. With this blog I want to inform the wider world of what is going on in the Church in the Netherlands.

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Sancta Maria, hortus conclusus, ora pro nobis!

Sancta Afra, ora pro nobis!

Pope Francis

Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Rome, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the Servants of God

Bishop Ron van den Hout

Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden

Willem Cardinal Eijk

Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto, Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht

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